The Origins of Snuffles
by pyrebi
Summary: When Sirius is found in his dog form by Lily Evans, what's he gonna do? Play the lovable mutt, of course! Well, at least until he can give her the slip...
1. Chess, Names, and the Full Moon

Hi, everyone. This story has been mildly revamped for your reading pleasure. A few OCs' names have changed, and a few minor grammatical mistakes have been corrected. I think you'll find it a bit easier on the eyes this way. Enjoy the story!

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**The Origins of Snuffles  
Chapter One: Chess, Names, and the Full Moon**

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Padfoot was having the worst day of his sixth year.

Sure, the sun was shining. Sure, the air was clear and crisp. He hadn't gotten detention in these first two weeks of the beginning term, and his hoard of mischief-making supplies was better stocked than ever.

"_You'll never escape alive, you mangy cur! Prepare to die!"_

"_Aaaiiiiiii!"_

Sirius grimaced as James Potter's queen forcefully dismembered his last knight. This was unquestionably the worst game of wizard chess he'd _ever_ played. His king looked at him pleadingly as Sirius forced him to move a space, out of the raging queen's way.

"Tut tut, Padfoot. Don't try to delay the inevitable."

Sirius growled up at Remus Lupin, but the fair-haired teen was already fixing his stare back on the book in his lap, smirking.

"He's right, you know," James said, trying desperately to sound bored. This was to be the first time he'd ever managed to beat Sirius in a game of wizard chess. He moved his queen to face Sirius's king. "Check."

Sirius flicked his eyes nervously over the board, looking for a way – any way – to keep his king alive. His gaze rested on the left-hand side for a brief moment, but he looked up quickly when James started to notice. He swallowed visibly.

"Yeah, yeah. I'll go belly-up in a minute here, mate," he grumbled, moving his king again. Half the Gryffindor common room was watching this match; everyone knew of James's long-standing goal of defeating Sirius in a game. Nobody was willing to give James a tip, knowing full well of the black-haired boy's wrath when he was helped to accomplish one of his personal goals. A few people were bursting at the seams, though.

"You know that three consecutive checks equals checkmate, right, Paddy?" James, confident and excited, commanded his queen to move again.

"NO!" yelped Peter Pettigrew, but it was too late. James's command was complete, and the little figure had moved to the specified square.

"Of course I know that," Sirius said smoothly. "Bishop, eliminate his queen." Sirius's last bishop zipped across the board and smashed the white queen. The handsome teen's face was so serene that it rivaled that of Headmaster Dumbledore, and he didn't look at the crowd around him, some of whom cheered wildly while others groaned.

James was in shock. He had ignored the bishop, and completely forgotten about it for the past two turns. Shaking his head quickly to clear it, he determinedly moved his castle into position to destroy the bishop. There was no way he was going to let _that_ happen again. He glared up at Sirius, but the other teen's calm demeanor unnerved him. The normal Sirius would've been whooping over his trick by now, but the handsome face before him didn't even twitch. Swallowing, James waited for the next move. Would Sirius protect his bishop?

"Pawn to the white queen's home," Sirius said quietly. A small pawn slid into James's home row with a cheer. A puff of silver smoke erupted from the pawn, and when it cleared, a new black queen stood in its place. Sirius regarded it with a tranquil air, then looked at the white king a few squares down. "Check."

James, as well as half of the common room, was in fits. How could he have ignored that pawn as well? How could the game have turned around so suddenly? He glared around at his pieces, but couldn't find a way to escape the queen but to move his king. When he tried, though, the little figure started squeaking.

"_Hey! You can't move me there! It'll be a check! No, not there either! Yes, yes, send me there!"_

James felt his eye start to twitch. He pulled his glasses off of his face and rubbed the bridge of his nose. He definitely started twitching during the next turn as Sirius's bishop took his castle. The game was practically over. Soon, the bishop and the queen had James's king trapped, and none of his other pieces could help.

"Do you know," Sirius muttered, not looking at James, "what this attack is called?"

Remus chuckled quietly as James growled, "No."

"It's called a...PRONG!" And, with that, Sirius jumped up and began doing his customary victory dance, the hip-gyrating moves of which were reminiscent of a certain popular Muggle singer from a few decades past, all the while giggling like a maniac. "CHECKMATE!" A few second years swooned, and Remus laughed heartily.

"You know, Prongs, you should really learn what I mean when I tell Padfoot here to not drag things out," Lupin grinned over the roar of the people in the common room.

James looked murderous. Whether it was being so close to victory or Sirius's dance on the table that had him so irked was anyone's guess. He stood up suddenly and stormed away from the table, parting the students around him like water. Sirius stopped celebrating and hopped down from the table, throwing his arm around James's neck.

"S'alright, Prongsy. I'll let you win one of these days, promise," Sirius Black chortled, his face inches away from James's ear. He suddenly jerked away, but it was too late. A loud _pop_ and a flash of light exploded from James's wand, and Sirius reeled backwards with bright blue hair.

"_He hexed me!_ Did you see that, Moony, Wormtail, he _hexed_ me! Just because he was angry about losing!"

Remus chuckled. "I can't say I feel too badly for you, Sirius. Besides, it seems to have cleared up the tension," he said, indicating James, who was laughing at Sirius's hurt disposition. After seeing his happy face, Sirius couldn't help grinning as well.

Okay, so Padfoot was having a pretty good day after all.

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At the Gryffindor table at dinner that night, Lily Evans glared at James, who was casually playing with the hem of her robes with his foot. He pretended not to notice.

"Padfoot, why do you still have that blue hair? Pomfrey would've fixed that for you in an instant."

Sirius grinned, pushing his shocking mane out of his eyes. "I dunno, Prongs. Maybe 'cause the girls seem to like it even better than my normal hair?" he said, smiling down the table at a couple of fourth years. The girls giggled and started whispering among themselves, throwing him glances occasionally.

James sighed in mock disgust. "Oi, Wormtail, pass the rolls, would you? And Moony, could you hand me the—" he was cut off.

"Why do you do that?" Lily said suddenly.

"Do what?" James asked, wide-eyed.

"Call each other by those weird names? They have to mean something. Or are you just being idiots?" she accused, eyes narrowed.

"Oh! That's what you mean. Well, early last year, in Divination, we were reading our textbook when we came across a section about reincarnation and its effect on your current life. Intrigued, we headed to the library for more information. Sirius, charmer that he is (here the boy in mention flashed a mega-watt smile), got old Pince to let us into the Restricted Section."

Lily raised an eyebrow. Remus did the same. _He_ certainly had no idea where this story was coming from...

"There we found a book steeped in the mystical arts of Divination and reincarnation. It contained a recipe so closely guarded that we knew we simply _had_ to try it out," James continued explaining, "So, late that night, by the light of the quarter moon, we performed a secret ceremony in our dorm room, mixing up a dreadful potion—"

Sirius cut in suddenly, "Unicorn eye fluid, grindylow droppings, and hair of greaseball. We used a bit of Snivellus's. Quality grease there, I tell you."

"—anyway, we mixed this potion, drank it, and it told us what we had been in our previous lives. Moony here was a beautiful and delicate luna moth."

Remus snorted. His werewolf self was anything but beautiful and delicate.

"Padfoot was a stealthy tiger, always silent."

Sirius grinned. "Rawr."

"Wormtail was a rat, and I, Prongs, was large dragon with a pronged tongue. And now that I've told you our deep secret, how about a date, Evans?"

Sighing with deep disgust, Lily kicked James's foot hard for its troubles, then stood suddenly and stalked off, muttering under her breath. "Creep. Can't have a conversation without thinking about dating... What does he think I am...easy?..."

The other three Marauders looked at James with a curious glint in their eyes. Peter was first to speak. "How come you only told her _my_ real form?"

"Because," James said dismissively, "no one would ever believe that you could be anything other than a rat."

"A _moth_, Prongs? Really...!"

"Rawr."

Then the four dissolved into conspiratorial sniggers.

---

Sirius finally had his hair changed back to its normal color two days later, when McGonagall told him he'd get detention if he didn't do something about it _that instant_. Funny how hard it is to teach a class when more than half of the girls are staring at one boy and giggling like mad.

For several days, Remus had been growing more and more sickly. Each night he would sit on his bed and stare at the gibbous moon, hardly sleeping. His friends knew what was coming, and they pitied him, but couldn't suppress the excitement they felt at the approach of the full moon.

Finally, the day arrived. Remus could barely attend his classes, and his pale, drawn look frightened most of the students. It was not long before sunset that Professor Dumbledore came to the spot the two were supposed to meet at and led the teen to the path beneath the Whomping Willow.

When Remus crawled into the little room that was his sanctuary during the full moon during his days at Hogwarts, he was met by the sight of three animals. A large stag was standing in the middle of the floor, a rat sitting between its sweeping antlers. On the bed lounged an enormous black dog, its pale eyes locked on the panting Remus.

"_Hello, Moony,"_ the all seemed to say.

The dog inclined his head, as if quipping, _"About time."_

"_Shut up, Padfoot. You know how painful this is for him, you overgrown Chihuahua."_

"_Mmm...venison. Don't tempt me, Prongs."_

"_Please, both of you! You're stressing me out."_

"_Sorry, Wormtail."_

'How odd of me to imagine these conversations,' Remus couldn't help thinking. He chuckled, but the laugh turned into a wracking cough. By the time he stopped, his body was covered in a cold sweat, and his breathing was coming in short, painful spurts. He felt the prickling, burning sensation creeping along his back that told him the transformation was about to begin. He struggled out of his clothes and laid them aside; he'd ruined enough sets of robes during the full moon. Then he curled his exposed body in a corner, waiting for the change from boy to beast to occur. He closed his eyes and began to think of happier things. He felt the soft fur of Padfoot brushing against his arm and the hot breath of Prongs on his hair, so it was easy to imagine nicer times.

The dog, stag, and rat sat beside their friend, refusing to flinch with the screams started. They barely moved when claws were swung at their faces. Eventually, instead of the pained teenager sitting in front of them, there was a large werewolf.

When Remus opened his eyes again, it was to a much different kind of vision. He could see better, and farther too. He could smell the delicate scents of the animals around him, and hear the warm blood rushing through their veins. He whined happily and sprung towards the door, the others following after.

It was a great night. The four explored the grounds outside Hogsmeade, stirring up rabbits for Remus and Sirius to chase. Finally, when the moon began to sink in the sky, they turned back towards the school. They had almost reached the Whomping Willow when a very bad thing happened: a student was outside the castle for an early-morning stroll in the grey light of pre-dawn.

Immediately, Remus went wild, the werewolf instinct taking complete control. He began to snarl, lunging towards the girl with great bounds, every hair bristling and every fang prepared to slash into the yielding flesh. James was just able to cut him off and hold him at bay, landing several smart blows with his cloven hooves on the wolf's head and snout. Peter ran ahead to press the knot on the Willow, and Sirius bounded towards the student, barking to raise the dead.

Suddenly, he slid to a stop. There, in front of him, was Lily Evans. _That_ was a bit unexpected. He blinked in confusion for a moment, then, casting a glance back towards the woods, Sirius thought of James trying to hold back the mad Remus. He turned to the girl and wagged his tail, licking her hand and nudging her back towards the castle.

"Hello, there, boy!" she cried. "What're you doing out here?" She bent down to inspect the huge dog. "No collar? You're a stray then..."

Sirius continued to use his bulk to usher the girl back towards the nearest castle entrance. In the distance he could just hear snarling and the bleating sound of James being attacked, followed by a whimper that meant Prongs had landed a good hit on the mad werewolf. Finally Lily began to move of her own accord, and Padfoot trotted along beside her, attempting to hasten the escape.

Because his mind was elsewhere, however, Sirius didn't hear the dooming words coming out of his charge's mouth: "I'm sure they'll let me keep you. You're such a dear! You just need a bath and a collar is all. Yes, I'm sure we'll have lots of fun, boy..."

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Dun dun DUN! Poor Sirius. He has no idea what's going to happen to him. 

Leave me a review if you liked it, eh? I live off the things, and no mistake!


	2. The Origin of Snuffles

Welcome to chapter two of tOoS!

I should mention now that this will NOT be a Sirius/Lily story. Nope. Never. I'm James/Lily all the way. Sorry to anyone who thought it might be.

From now on _"this"_ means Sirius's thoughts. Nobody else can hear these, so they're just there so Padfoot can have some input in his own story.

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**The Origins of Snuffles  
Chapter Two: The Origin of "Snuffles"**

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As Lily Evans and the great black dog that was Sirius Black reached the entrance to the castle, the grey sky gave way to first rays of the rising sun. Sirius heaved a sigh of relief. He just hoped Wormtail and Prongs had managed to get Moony back to the Shack before the sun came up. Sirius recalled fondly the time at the end of last year when they hadn't made it and were forced to sneak a naked Remus across the grounds. _That_ had been fun, although Remus still blushed crimson when reminded of it.

Knowing Lily was out of danger, Sirius attempted to give her the slip. Unfortunately, she caught him. (Well, if she hadn't, there wouldn't be much of a story, would there?) She quickly put her arm around his neck and cooed in his ear.

"It's all right, puppy. Come on, it's not so far."

"_Hey, wait!_ _I don't wanna!"_

But he really had no choice. Lily was watching him like a hawk, and under her careful gaze, he was escorted all of the way back up to the Gryffindor common room. When Lily tried to lead him into the girl's dorms, though, something unexpected happened.

The staircase knew what the large black dog really was.

Sirius's paw had barely touched the third step when the stairs disappeared, leaving in their place a very slick slide. Lily, who had been walking behind Sirius, slipped first, landing on her rump at the bottom of the staircase. Sirius managed to scramble upwards for a few seconds longer (having four paws and claws for better traction), but he too went hurtling to the ground eventually, landing squarely atop Lily. And when you've got a dog the size of Padfoot on you, breathing is no easy matter.

"Ooomph," said Lily around the fur in her mouth.

"_Sorry, sorry."_

The bear-sized dog hoisted himself off of the girl and made a second dash for freedom. If he could only get out of sight... He had made half a bound and then fell flat on his face. The redhead had grabbed one of his hind legs. Whimpering in frustration, Sirius attempted to scrabble away, but it was no use.

"Oh, stop that," Lily sat up and shook her head, then glared at the staircase. "He's with me, and he's safe. Now let him pass."

Sirius snorted, then looked taken aback when Lily started to giggle like mad. He gave a shrug of his great fur-covered shoulders and decided to ignore her. When she tried to get him to go up the stairs again, he gave her a scathing look.

"_Didn't we just try this? Didn't turn out so well."_

"Come on, you," Lily said, looping her arm over Sirius's neck and pulling him towards the stairs. This time, the steps didn't dissolve, and Padfoot was able to ascend. Mildly surprised, he wondered if more things in Hogwarts were like that. 'Ask and be permitted.' Seemed easy enough... There were quite a few doors he wanted to try out now...

He was surprised at how similar the girls' dorms seemed to the boys', except for one thing: the smell. Everywhere Sirius went the smell of fruit and flowers followed him. Here was a whiff of chocolate, there, of cinnamon. The scent of baked goods and clean laundry permeated everything. It smelled like...like..._girl_. Dog's nose overloaded, Sirius snorted. Lily started giggling again.

The two turned into a circular room with five beds, a twin to the one Sirius stayed in with James, Remus, and the others. Lily whistled loudly and lumps in four beds began to stir. One by one, heads appeared from behind the curtains. A girl with frizzy blonde hair was the first to say anything.

"Lily...wow. Where'd you get that dog?"

Lily Evans grinned. "He was outside, just wandering around. He's such a sweetie. I'm gonna keep him, and I've already thought of his name. I'm going to call him Snuffles—"

"_Whaaat? What kind of idiotic, unimaginative, undignified name is Snuf—"_

"—because of this adorable snuffling noise he makes. It's just so cute!"

Sirius snorted in disgust and Lily giggled. "There! He's doing it right now!" Sirius could have killed himself. Did his snort really like a snuffle? How degrading...

While he was pondering this (and how to open the door without opposable thumbs), Lily went over to a trunk at the end of the unoccupied bed and started pulling things out. Finally, she held up a thin piece of red leather with a metal tag attached to it: a collar. "This was my old dog's collar. It's got a couple of charms on it, of course." She held it up and pointed her wand at the tag. "Snuffles," she said, loudly. A glimmer passed over metal and left the name etched there.

"_I'm not wearing that; I have my dignity. And...and...I'm not even a dog!"_

Sirius began to back away, hoping to sneak out of the room and transform in his own dorm. Unfortunately, he underestimated the persuasive force of five sixteen-year-old girls who are looking forward to having a new pet. He had barely moved when two girls leapt from their beds and were hugging him tightly. The other two followed shortly after.

Perhaps it was the happy-to-please dog nature in him, perhaps it was the fear of hurting someone in his escape, or perhaps it was the fact that four barely-clad females were holding him in place, but Sirius couldn't move as Lily fastened the thin red collar around his neck. Figuring he might as well play the dog, he thumped his tail loudly against the floor. The girls laughed happily.

---

Sirius was infinitely peeved that there were no classes that day. He spent the morning trapped in the girls' dorms, which was less fun than he and the other boys had always imagined. He was constantly fawned over, and was even forced into a game of catch with a few first years. Carrying the rubber ball back to them for the umpteenth time, he dropped it suddenly and spurted towards the stairs.

Padfoot hit the common room at a full run, crossed it impossibly fast, and took the stairs to his room in two bounds. He burst through the final door to see James, Remus, and Peter all sitting on their beds, grinning.

The three looked a little worse for the wear: James had a huge bandage up one arm to his shoulder, evident of the place the werewolf had bitten him; Peter was scraped up and had a deepish sort of cut beneath his chin; and Remus, the worst off of all of them, had massive bruising all over his face (not a few of which were hoof-shaped) and minute bite-marks all over his appendages. Nevertheless, none of them seemed in any way disgruntled about their injuries.

"Welcome back, Paddy," James laughed. "Where have you been?"

Sirius was in the middle of transformation when he noticed something was terribly wrong. By the time he was fully human again, he was clawing at his throat, eyes panic-stricken.

"Sirius, what's wrong?" Remus said, hurrying over to him.

The handsome teen's face was turning red, and he gave an occasional strangled cough. "...Can't...breathe...choking..."

Remus pulled down the neck of Sirius's robe and laughed. Sirius glared at him, then coughed weakly again.

Peter scurried over and peered at what Remus was chuckling over. "Snuffles?" he queried, giving Sirius an odd look as he stared at the thin red collar that was much too tight for a human neck.

James whooped, "You've been adopted, Padfoot! But I hope this taught you a lesson: always take off your collar before attempting to return to your human form." He reached over to Sirius's neck to unlatch the tight band. His fingers closed over the catch, but a burst of light forced him to pull back. "Ouch! It burnt my fingers! What is this thing?"

"...Li...ly...put...on...me...Said...it...was...charmed..." Sirius managed. His vision was becoming blurred, and because it seemed no one was going to be taking the infernal thing off of him, he slipped back into his canine form. Immediately, he could breathe again. Taking in huge gulps of air, he looked around at his fellow Marauders. _"Well?" _he thought.

Remus looked concerned. "Well, if it really is charmed, it probably can't be taken off by anyone than the person who put it on him. And if it was Evans, it's going to be difficult to get her to agree to anything. She hates James, and Peter and I aren't exactly her favorite people either." He too tried to take off the collar, but quickly withdrew his fingers. He retrieved a small knife from the nearby table, but was unable to sever the leather. "Hmmm... Looks like it's got an indestructible charm on it. I doubt we could get it off with the amount of magic we know."

Peter was still looking at the tag. "She named you_ Snuffles_!" he said, barely able to control his giggles. Sirius snarled at him; he considered the name to be an insult to his pride.

"Evans did this to you? Where'd she get the collar? Her dorm room?" James asked. Sirius inclined his head. Immediately, the other three were staring at him, awestruck.

Peter swallowed. "You...you didn't actually _go up there_, did you?" Sirius nodded again. The others went wild.

"You got into the girls' dorms!"

"How'd you do it?"

"What was it like?"

"Does it look the same?"

"Is it nicer over there? It's nicer over there, isn't it?"

"Did you hear any gossip?"

"Does anyone like me?"

"Were there a lot of mostly-naked girls running around? Were they cute?"

"JAMES!" Remus cried.

James grinned cheekily. "Oi, Moony, you're so uptight."

Sirius barked in annoyance. After all, _he_ was the one stuck as a dog. Glaring around at the others, he waited for them to get back on subject. When he noticed that James, who had Remus in headlock and was rubbing his knuckles against the other's head, Remus, who protesting loudly, and Peter, who was watching the other two with rapt attention, had no intention of giving him the time of day, he nipped James on the leg sharply.

James, letting go of Remus, muttered something impolite as he rubbed his sore leg. He was about to hex Sirius's fur pink when he noticed the great black dog was desperately trying to scuttle under the nearest four-poster bed. A moment later, his human ears caught the sound of a girl on a rampage. A few seconds passed before the door to the room was kicked open by one very annoyed Lily Evans.

"POTTER! My dog has just run up this way. Have you seen him?" she said, glowering.

Before James could make either a snide comment or a date proposal, Remus butted in. "It just so happens that we have," he said pleasantly. "Prongs sort of scared him under the bed, so I'll get him for you."

He dropped to his knees and lifted the bedspread. "Padfoot, you have to go with her. Just try and get her to take off that collar!" he murmured.

"_I'd rather die. Now leave me alone, Moony."_

Seeing that Sirius wasn't going to come quietly, Remus dropped to his stomach and began pulling "Snuffles" out by his front paws. Grumbling under his breath, the young wizard struggled to force Sirius's claws out of the grooves they were creating. The dog, meanwhile, was trying valiantly to bite the teen's hands off at the wrist.

"_Geroff!"_

Suddenly Sirius felt someone shoving against his hindquarters. He smelled Peter Pettigrew behind him, and knew he must be helping that traitor Remus. Between snapping at Remus's arms and trying to slice Peter open with his back claws, Sirius lost his traction. He felt himself sliding...

Lily watched, eyebrow raised, as Remus's front half came tumbling out from under the bed, followed closely by the huge black form of Sirius. She grinned as the dog sat up and shook his head violently, muzzle and shoulders covered with dust bunnies. "Snuffles! I'm so glad I've found you! Come on, I've fixed you some food..." Sirius looked at her balefully.

James batted his eyes towards the dog. "Oh _Snuuuuffles!_ I've fixed you some _lovely_ food! Come tuck in, and I'll keep you forever and love you and brush you and pet you and..." he cried, throwing his arms around the dog's furry neck. Sirius snarled loudly and tried to bite off James's ear, which was the closest thing to his teeth. James, not keen on having an ear torn off, backed away. "Hey, just watch that she doesn't have you_ fixed_, Snuffles," he grumbled.

Grinning ear-to-ear at the growling dog, Lily said, "I'm glad my dog has taste. At least he knows a slimy creep when he sees one. I wouldn't be the least bit sorry if he _did_ maim you, Potter." Slipping her fingers under the collar, she led Sirius away from the three boys sitting on the floor. Turning halfway around, she muttered, "Where's your idiot friend Black? Showing off again?"

Remus smiled slightly. "Maybe. But I believe he's going to be lying low for a while. Last I heard, he wasn't feeling quite himself."

Sirius snorted. Lily exclaimed happily and threw herself at him. "Oh, I just love you! You're so cute!" Then she led him out.

Behind them, the other three Marauders were hugging each other, crying "You're _so cuuute_!" in sing-songy voices.

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Oi, those three are so mean. (laughs) So there's chapter two for you. 


	3. Snuffles Bathes, to His Chagrin

Hello, hello! Chapter three for all of you! Wow, almost a dozen reviews! My goal is...hmm...thirty for the entire story. That sounds good. (grins) Am I being too optimistic? (Update: Obviously not. Wow, 28 reviews and only three chapters! I love you guys!)

Much thanks to IamSiriusgrl for her name suggestions; I'll think you'll find two of them have been used! (Update: Well, I changed one, sorry... It's still your suggestion, though!)

Oh, another relationship note for all of you: I really hate OCs, and am sorry to have to include them in this story. I promise you there will be no relationships between any Potterians and my OCs. Although a few OCs might have crushes on certain boys, those feeling will go unrequited. So haha to them.

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**The Origins of Snuffles  
Chapter Three: Snuffles Bathes, To His Chagrin**

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It was mid-afternoon before Professor McGonagall strode into the common room, looking abnormally severe. "Where is Miss Evans?" she asked a group of chatting fifth years. The girls told her that Lily Evans was still up in her room.

When McGonagall entered the dorm, the girls inside were fussing over an enormous black dog. Pursing her lips, she coughed to get their attention. Catching sight of the stern-looking woman, Sirius's hopes for escape rose and he began wagging his tail.

Yelping in surprise, Lily was the first to react. "P-professor! Oh, please Professor, can't we keep him? He's such a sweet dog, and he's housebroken, and he won't bark at night or anything! I found him on the grounds this morning, and he was cold and hungry and wet. He doesn't have any home, can't we keep him _pleeease_?" she gushed.

Sirius could've snickered (assuming dogs can snicker). _"No go, Evans. McGonagalls's a cat sort of person, everyone knows that."_

McGonagall was silent for a long moment. "If I hear one negative thing about that dog, Miss Evans, I'm throwing it out of the castle immediately. And taking fifty points from Gryffindor," she said tersely.

"Thank you, Professor! He'll be good, really!" Lily cried, throwing her arms around Sirius's neck. The dog's jaw hung slack.

"_Professor, how could you? At least make her take the collar off!"_

Sirius spent the rest of the evening moping. He'd had his fur brushed eight times, people kept trying to slip him food, and he'd even been taken for several walks outside. He'd never felt more like a...well, a dog. Sighing, he curled up on the rug on the floor. How long was he going to have to stay like this? He didn't even look up as the girls around him changed into their sleepwear. Finally, as everyone was getting into bed, Lily called to him.

Ambling over to her bed, he sniffed at her outstretched hand. He was bored, and figured he might as well appease her. Lily laughed. "C'mon up here, Snuffles." She giggled as Sirius leapt up onto her bed. She patted a spot on the bed next to her. Curious, Padfoot sat there. Suddenly, she pulled him down into lying position. "You can sleep in my bed tonight, boy," she murmured, hugging his large form close.

"_Nooo! Lemme go! I don't wanna!"_

Eyes wide, Sirius struggled mightily against the arms encircling him. He knew this was going to get back to James somehow, and he really didn't want to see the expression on his friend's face when he found out that Padfoot had shared a bed with Lily Evans, even if Sirius _was_ currently a dog.

Some of the other girls expressed their jealousy towards Lily. "Aww, I want Snuffles to sleep with me!"

"_No!"_

"Yeah, I get him tomorrow!"

"_Forget it!"_

"I'd feel so much safer if he'd sleep in my bed."

"_If only you knew what you're saying..."_

Poor Sirius spent a completely miserable night wrapped in the warm, secure embrace of Lily Evans. Sure, it was comfortable and soft. But that was exactly the problem! There was no way on earth Sirius was gonna fall asleep nestled in the arms of the girl that his best mate had loved since first year. It was disloyal (and a little scary). So he resorted to staring out the window, begging dawn to come faster. His eyelids started to droop...

---

When Lily awoke, she grinned. Snuffles was curled into a ball by her side, fast asleep. Looking across the room, she hissed, "Anne! Anne, wake up!"

The girl known as Anne Risdon grumbled for a moment before sitting up. Her silky mouse-brown hair was rumpled, and she looked distinctly unhappy at being up so early. "What do you want, Lil? I was sleeping..." she muttered.

"It's almost five thirty. We've got class today, remember? I want to take a bath before breakfast; I smell like dog."

"Fine, fine. You wanna give Snuffles a bath, too?"

"Sounds good to me. We'll just take him with us, I'm sure it wouldn't be a problem. We could wash him in one of the individual bathtubs. Hey, Erin, Riley, Maddie! Up and at 'em, ladies!"

Groaning, Erin O'Riordan, Riley Giffin, and Madison Bruce all shifted in their beds. Lily put two fingers in her mouth and whistled loudly. Shrieking, the other three shot up suddenly. Sirius nearly brained himself falling off of Lily's bed.

"_Wha...? What's going on?"_

"We're all getting up early for baths. We'll be washing Snuffles as well."

"_We'll be WHAT?"_

The girls suddenly looked excited. Erin, the girl with blonde frizzy hair, exclaimed in a heavy Irish brogue, "I'll go get my bath things!"

Within minutes, each girl had a basket of soaps and shampoos under her arm and a robe over her shoulder. Lily clipped a short leash onto Sirius's collar and led him down to the common room. At the door leading to the girls' baths, Riley turned to Lily. "Are you going down to the Prefects' baths?"

Lily grinned. "No. I'll bathe with you underprivileged souls today."

"Gee, thanks."

---

Though Sirius had tried valiantly to keep away, the girls dragged him across the tiled floor of the bathing room anyway. They reached a largish stone tub and wheedled him into it, then began to fill it with lukewarm water. Growling irritably, Sirius felt them rubbing shampoo into his fur. It smelled like...something fruity. Uck.

Lily clucked her tongue, then unsnapped the red collar so she could wash under it. Padfoot saw his chance to escape. He tried to leap out of the bath, unaware of just how doglike he was acting.

"Oh! Snuffles!" Lily cried. He'd splashed sudsy water all over her nightshirt. Shrugging, she slipped it off. The act arrested Sirius. There was Prongs's future wife (according to James, at any rate) in nothing more than her undergarments. It was a few moments before Sirius resumed his struggle, more frantic than ever.

"_He'll kill me. I'm as good as dead..."_

Laughing, the girls held Sirius in the tub and finished scrubbing his fur. Anne began dumping buckets of warm water over him, attempting to rinse the soap from his coat. Finally, somebody pulled the stopper out, and the few inches of water in the tub drained away. Before Sirius could make a break for freedom, he was covered in fluffy white towels. The girls were patting him dry.

Finally, the white cottony mass lifted. Lily smiled and snapped the collar back on. "There we go, all clean! Now don't you feel better, Snuffles?"

"_I hate you."_

Lily clipped the leash back onto the collar and tied one end to a mounted towel rack. She ruffled the fur on Sirius's head and scratched his ears lovingly. "Now, you be good until we've finished our baths, all right? Then we'll go down to breakfast."

Sirius's eyes became as wide as saucers as the girls around him undressed and stepped into their respective baths. It was something all the boys had dreamed of, watching this now (with the possible exception of Remus, but no one was _that_ much of a prude, Sirius reasoned). Under different circumstances, perhaps with Prongs by his side and both under the Invisibility Cloak, this would've been one experience they'd talk about for years. As it was, Padfoot was trying desperately to think of anything besides the naked girls surrounding him, especially Lily, who was the closest to him. And it just got worse; the later the morning got, the more girls wandered into the baths. Sirius was nearly hyperventilating by the time all five girls were finished and robed.

Sirius kept his eyes firmly planted on the back of Erin's green, white, and orange robe, reading the words COUNTY CORK over and over again, as girls of all years and stages of undress came over to pat him and remark on how lovely he smelled. Finally, when they left the bath room, Sirius let out a shuddering sigh of relief.

Unfortunately, neither he nor the robe-clad girls had considered that some boys might be up at this hour (that the Marauders might be up at this hour, to be exact). James, Remus, and Peter were sitting close together, their heads bent. Peter looked over his shoulder and squeaked in surprise, pointing the approaching group out to the other two.

Remus's brows knit as he realized what must have happened, but a mischievous light sparkled in his eyes. Peter clapped a hand over his mouth to hide his giggles. James went from a pale white, to red, to white again with such rapidity that it almost seemed like the work of magic. He stood stiffly and walked over to intercept the dog. A deadly light in his eye, he crouched down so his face was level with Sirius's.

"So, _Snuffles_, had a nice bath?"

Lily raised an eyebrow, obviously perturbed by the boy's odd actions. Erin, who was James's fellow Chaser on Gryffindor's Quidditch team, growled, "Potter, what do you think you're doing?"

"Stuff it, O'Riordan," he shot, not looking at her. "I suppose you had a nice bath, too, Evans? Nothing...odd...happen?"

"No, of course not. Why?" Lily asked, eyes narrowing with suspicion.

Sirius glared at James. _"Of course nothing odd happened. I'm the charmer, the rough-on-the-edges-but-with-a-heart-of-gold type. Not the twisted pervert, you untrusting git."_

"Just the company you bathed with is all. Didn't know you liked having boys watching you," James gritted, glaring daggers into Sirius. The massive dog raised his hackles, growling for all he was worth.

"_Oh, yes, because you know I really enjoyed the whole experience!"_

Lily finally got the gist of what James was hinting at. "He's a _dog_, Potter. Sometimes I wonder about you. C'mon, ladies, we've got to change for breakfast." With that, she put her nose in the air and began to stalk off, confused about the exchange but full of righteous indignation nevertheless.

"Wait," Remus called softly. He smiled at the girls. "May I pat your dog? He reminds me so much of one I used to know."

Sensing Riley turning into a useless lovesick puddle beside her, Lily rolled her eyes and sighed. Remus, taking that to be consent, strode over to Sirius and placed one hand on his head. Smiling wickedly, the fair-haired teen said brightly, "Why, he smells lovely! Is that white plum?" Sirius had a sudden urge to bite Remus's face off.

Riley gushed, "It is! It's one of my shampoos!"

Remus nodded sagely. "I thought so. Well, have a good day, Miss Evans, Miss Giffin. Oh, and by the way, that collar looks a bit tight. Maybe you should adjust it later?" He inclined his head, then returned to his seat.

The three human Marauders watched the girls ascend their staircase, then James turned to Remus, incredulous. "How d'you do that?" he breathed, temporarily forgetting about Sirius.

"Do what?"

"Talk to the girls like that. All smooth and calm, like you're not interested in anything but what you're talking about at that moment. That Giffin girl was practically drooling over you!"

Remus's lips curled. "It's a gift, I suppose. A gift that comes in very useful when I choose to apply it."

Peter was also looking at Remus in awe, but his expression was slightly different, more like a sick curiosity. "How'd you know what scent that shampoo was? It wasn't the normal wildflower or cucumber melon scents girls use, those are recognizable even if you aren't familiar with beauty products..."

To this the quiet teen merely quirked an eyebrow in a way that feigned innocence, avoiding Peter's look.

Suddenly, James remembered what Sirius had been doing for the past forty-five minutes. "I'LL KILL HIM, THE DIRTY CREEP!" The others winced. It was going to be a long morning.

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Taadaa! Chapter three for you! Sorry for the wait. 


	4. On Love, Loathing, and Breakfast

It's been a looong time coming, but here it is! The long-lost fourth chapter of "The Origins of Snuffles"! Enjoy your chapter, O Patient Readers, and I _promise_ I'll update much sooner with chapter five!

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**The Origins of Snuffles  
Chapter Four: On Love and Loathing (and Breakfast) **

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"Lupin's so _dreamy_, eh?" Riley sighed, eyes sparkling.

Lily threw a pillow at the other girl's face. "Get over it! He was just playing nice. I can tell he's up to something," she added with a scowl. She was changing into a shirt and slacks in the bedroom, and was highly annoyed at the exchange that had taken place in the common room below.

Sirius was lying curled on Lily's bed, looking thoroughly depressed. This was quite possibly the worst thing that had happened to him yet at Hogwarts. He was stuck as a dog, forced to live with a bunch of chattery, snappish girls, and his best mate was currently plotting how to make him miserable.

"Well, let's get down to breakfast, then," Lily said, voice muffled as she pulled her robes over her head and jammed her pointed hat onto her red hair. She whistled. "Come, Snuffles."

"_I don't wanna."_

Lily clipped the leash back onto Sirius's collar and practically dragged him from the bed. The collar pulling suddenly on his neck, Sirius gave a sort of cough. Lily blinked in surprise at the strange _'gack!'_ sound coming from the dog, then bent to inspect him.

Maddie crouched down beside Lily. "You know, Lupin did say the collar looked a bit tight."

"I suppose I could loosen it a little," Lily said, rubbing her chin. Sirius's eyes lit up at the words. If he could perhaps slip it off... He unconsciously began to wag his tail, thumping it loudly against the stone floor.

Erin, who was straightening her robes in the mirror, glanced over at the dog. "He's fine. Look, he's wagging his tail."

Sirius could've killed himself as Lily nodded. "Oh, yeah, you're right."

"_So close..."_

Lily led a reluctant Padfoot down the stairs to the Gryffindor common room. To his immense relief, James, Remus, and Peter were no longer there. Suddenly a bit happier, Sirius trotted along side the girls down to the Great Hall. His dog's nose picked up the smell of food, and he was glad. His stomach had been growling for hours; with the exception of little treats snuck to him the day before, he hadn't eaten since the evening before last. That was another bad thing about not being human: you couldn't tell people when you wanted something.

The small group entered the Great Hall, and the overpowering scent of breakfast accosted Sirius's sensitive nose. He could feel himself starting to salivate, and angrily swallowed. He would _not_ drool like some common mutt! Besides, the other Marauders would never let him live it down...

He followed Lily to the Gryffindor table, subjecting himself to the pleased squeals and furious patting of multiple students in order to reach the food. None of it mattered so long as he could just get something to eat. Instinctively he headed toward his normal seat beside James, but was stopped short as Lily tugged on his leash. He would be sitting with the girls at their normal spot. How irritating.

That irritation soon became less important as he helped himself to massive amounts of bacon, ham, and eggs. The girls had placed a plate on the floor for him, and he was downing the food with gusto. Even the Marauders' sly glances and whispering from further down the table couldn't keep him from enjoying his meal to the fullest.

Hunger sated, Sirius sat back on his haunches and examined the room around him. Breakfast was in full swing, and the Hall buzzed with the chatter of students. Suddenly he noticed Snape entering the Hall, oily as ever. As if by instinct, all of the fur on his body stood on end, as if preparing for attack.

A plan slowly began to unfold in Sirius's mind. McGonagall had said that if there was any trouble with the "dog," he'd have to go. So, the simple solution was to attack someone, then. And what could be better than harassing Snivellus? He could pick on the greasy git with no consequences, save having his furry self expulsed from the school like so much canine garbage. And of course Evans would take the collar off at that point, right? So all he'd have to do is turn back into good old handsome-as-the-devil Sirius Black and sneak back onto school grounds. Piece of cake.

He checked on Lily: she seemed to be in a lively debate with Anne over the ethics of some ancient goblin uprising. Ever so slowly, he began to tug the leash out from under her hand. When she raised her hands to make an emphatic gesture, he wasted no time in pulling the leash free and taking off down the aisle between the House tables, fully intent of the Slytherin before him.

Sirius was in mid-leap when the flash of light hit him, knocking him off-balance and sending his huge form tumbling under the Gryffindor table. For a moment he was stunned, unable to focus on anything besides the ringing in his head. Then he noticed the entire room was in an uproar.

He could hear the distant voice of McGonagall assigning someone a week's worth of detentions as well as a shriek of dismay from Lily. When Sirius really came to, the first thing he realized was that his fur--all of it, from snout to tail--was a hideous shade of magenta. Scrabbling out from under the table, he heard the loud and derisive laughter of a good three-fourths of the Great Hall.

Proud spirit injured, the big bla--er, magenta--dog instinctively went into a snarl, hackles raised. Searching for the origin of the jinx, he spotted James laughing harder and louder than anyone else. Sirius's snarl increased in ferocity as he realized that the messy-haired boy had been the one who had cast the spell. Of course, that fact was only made more obvious by Peter's worried and Remus's apologetic expressions.

Sirius decided to switch tactics. Why go for grease when he could simply bite James's face off and achieve basically the same effect? Unfortunately, this new plan also ground to a halt. Firstly, Evans was now running towards him, evidently keen on calming him down; secondly, Professor McGonagall was shouting at her to get him and come to her office immediately.

Moments later Sirius was sitting stiffly in McGonagall's office, a deep snarl still rumbling lowly in his throat. He was just so...so..._irritated! _Lily, hands trembling (but whether it was with nervousness or suppressed rage it was difficult to tell),was attempting to change his fur back to its normal color, but she couldn't undo the jinx. They were both waiting for the teacher to arrive.

Soon the tight-lipped woman strode briskly through the door and sat down behind her desk. Staring at the silent pair over the top of a stack of yet-to-be-graded essays, she asked bluntly, "What happened?"

_"Weren't you watching? That git Potter jinxed me!"_

Quickly patting the head of the dog, whose growl was once again increasing in volume, Lily responded, "Snuffles kinda slipped free, and James Potter jinxed him. It was a powerful one, too; it sent him flying under a table."

McGonagall's expression didn't change. "And why did he slip free?"

"I...I guess I wasn't keeping a good hold on the leash, ma'am, and he'd been cooped up in my dorm all night, so I guess he'd want a chance to stretch his legs."

The professor leaned forward and rubbed her temples. "I see. Miss Evans, I told you that if there was any trouble with that dog, I wouldn't allow you to keep him."

Sirius began to thump his tail against the ground expectantly.

Lily paled. "I know, Professor, but it wasn't his fault! I accept all responsibility for the scene at breakfast today. Please, let me have one more chance!"

McGonagall took a long look at Sirius, then took a long look at Lily. Unfortunately for Sirius, Evans was one of McGonagall's favorite students. (Then again, she was one of all of the professors' favorite students. Except for Madam Hooch. Hooch had attempted to teach the Muggle-born Lily to fly a broom back in first year and had ended up with a broken nose and a decidedly persistent headache for her trouble. Since then, the relationship between the two females had been rather cool.)

"Fine," the teacher sighed. "But be sure to walk him more often. He needs to release some of that pent-up energy. He's not like a cat, you know."

_"Again! I think you have it in for me, Minnie. Always did like Evans best."_

"I will, honest! Thank you so much, Professor!" Lily beamed, patting Sirius's head with rather more force than necessary.

"And please change his fur back," McGonagall added. Upon seeing Lily's suddenly despairing expression, she stifled another sigh and said, "Bring him here."

Lily's face was clouded. "I don't understand _why_ I can't get it back," she admitted.

McGonagall twitched her wand over Sirius's head. The fur remained stubbornly magenta. The wand twitched again. Equally as successful results. Now the wand did a petite twist and glowed a bit. The fur was still the same hideous hue. Suddenly, with full arm motion, the wand cracked down upon Sirius's head and a sound like a small explosion erupted in his ears. As far as his watering eyes could tell, however, his fur remained resolutely pink.

"Hmm," said McGonagall.

"Uh-oh," said Lily.

_"Ouch,"_ thought Sirius.

As if to add insult to injury, McGonagall reached down and plucked several hairs quite sharply from the dog's ears. Sirius resisted the urge to bite her.

The professor studied the hairs pinched between her fingers for a moment. They had turned black as soon as they had left the dog's body. "How...interesting," she murmured, twisting the hairs.

_"What? You _can_ fix it, right?"_

McGonagall nodded. "Of course, it makes sense now! This isn't a petty jinx or hex. This is Transfiguration...good Transfiguration, too. James Potter was alwaysexceptionalat this sort of thing! He's actually made it so that so long as it remains on the dog's body, every hair will grow in pink. Brilliantly done work, actually. Very...er...clever..." the older woman trailed off to a halt under the seethingglares of Lily and Sirius. "Right. I'll just take a different approach, then."

Soon girl and dog were walking out of the office eating biscuits and plotting the downfall of one James Potter, albeit in very different ways. Lily was going to smack his face. Sirius was going to bite him, and aim a bit lower. At least Sirius was once again the color his surname might suggest.

Lily had to go to class soon after, so she left "Snuffles" in her dormitory. Of course, it didn't take Sirius very long to figure out how to open the door. He figured he might as well explore the school while he could. He certainly wasn't about to be cooped up in some girl's bedroom all day.

Unknown to him, however, teachers were starting to notice that one Sirius Black seemed to be missing all of his classes that day...

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**IMPORTANT!** - I personally would like to thank all my reviewers. I love you guys so much! It always brings a grin to my face to see my inbox stocked with your kind words. Additional profuse thanks and adoration to all of those who have added either myself or my stories to their favorites lists! You all honor me! As a thank you, I'll be taking suggestions for a future story. Have something you really wanna see, and think I'd do a decent job writing it? If it can be made into a one-shot, just tell me via this site's messaging system. I'd love to have some way to thank you guys. Just a warning, though: I can't write slash or anything with a rating over T; those stories always turn out really bad... (Okay, so that wasn't really that important. But it was important to me to thank you all!) 


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